Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Stone Fox

Title: Stone Fox
Author: John Reynolds Gardiner
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright date: 1980
Number of Pages: 96 pages
Awards: New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 1980, named 100 Best Books for Children by Anita Silvey
Reading Level: Independent Reader Jr. "I am a Reader"
Generally appropriate for 4th Grade to 7th Grade
These books are appropriate for the independent reader who can retain and understand more elaborate and sophisticated story elements.
Lexile: N/A
Genre: Children’s Novels, Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Summary:
Willy discovers that his Grandfather needs 500 dollars to pay off 10 years worth of taxes on the farm, or they will lose it. In a daring plan, Willy enters the National Dogsled Race, and places everything on the line, with a wild hope that he can outrun the best dogsled racers in the country. Who also includes the legendary Native American Dogsled racer, Stone Fox. Stone Fox has never lost a race. But, Willy refuses to give up. Will Willy and his dog, Searchlight, win the $500 dollars and save his Grandfathers farm?
Academic Purpose:
I would integrate this book into the classroom, as a class novel to read. This book is fantastic and will be great for upper elementary aged students. I would implement a reading strategy called Literature Circles for when my students read this book. What I would do is divide the students into groups, and each week the students would be responsible to read 1-2 chapters and complete their role. The reading roles that the students would assign themselves would be the following: Discussion director, illustrator, connector, summarizer, vocabulary enricher, and travel tracer. Teachers can customize these roles to best fit their classroom. The students would switch roles each week. I would have students keep a folder of all their weekly projects and turn them in to the teacher at the end, for me to see how well each student comprehended and learned about the novel.

Rating System:

Categories:	5 Stars	3 Stars	1 Star	Comments
Style and Language	The book anticipates readers’ questions and uses great word choice for the age targeted. It has linear progression and communicates its point clearly.	The book follows a linear progression, with some unclear points. The word choice is okay.	The book is confusing as it doesn’t follow a linear progression at all. The vocabulary in the book is either too simple or too complex for the age group targeted.	This book uses great word choice for the age targeted. There is many vocabulary words such as, palomino, bushel, clenched, tension, Amateur, and reservation. The books style and language creates a great book for independent readers. This book communicates its point clearly about friendship. The linear progression storyline is fantastic. 5 stars
Plot and Character Development	The plot is in depth and helps to create a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. The character development is strong.	The plot is okay. The book is organized with a beginning, middle, and end. The characters are well developed.	The book is confusing and doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle, or end.	This book does have a plot, which creates a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. This book does a great job of unfolding the characteristics of each character, to which to the point the reader can relate to them. 5 stars
Interest	The book holds real life situations which draw the reader in. The word choice and story hold the reader’s attention. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book holds little interest and draws the reader in sometimes. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book is very boring and doesn’t hold the reader’s attention. The book is not suitable for the age group targeted.	This book definitely holds the reader’s attention with the real life situation theme.  The book does such a great job engaging the reader with its suspenseful storyline. This story definitely will keep its readers on their toes. 5 stars
Educational Value	The book is relatable to education. The book can be integrated into other content areas.	The book is relatable to education. The book may need further resources to help connect it to other content areas.	The book is not relatable to education whatsoever. The book is not appropriate to be integrated into other content areas.	This book is relatable to education. This book can teach students how to collaborate with one another when reading this book together and participating in Literature Circles.   5 star